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Aquarium Plant Food UK Closing Down

dw1305 said:
I'd probably try Solufeed in both cases. If you don't mind the urea (CO(NH2)2) content then the <"Solufeed 2 : 1 : 4 mix"> should do and they also sell <"trace nutrients"> mixes.
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I will see about getting the product added to The IFC calculator, it may need a little thought as we haven't added a AIO dry salt before 🤓
 
just a warning for anyone buying solufeed. You may need to supplement it with additional iron and manganese unless your water is very soft.
For 30ppm No3 the product delivers only 0.0875ppm Fe. This will be fine if you don’t have much calcium/ co3 , but otherwise, I fear you may have to compliment it with more iron.
 
plantnoobdude said:
just a warning for anyone buying solufeed. You may need to supplement it with additional iron and manganese unless your water is very soft.
For 30ppm No3 the product delivers only 0.0875ppm Fe.
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We will bear this in mind when integrating it into the IFC Calculator, so we can have the full range of other trace salts to use as well. More to think about 🙄🤣
 
Hi all,
plantnoobdude said:
You may need to supplement it with additional iron and manganese unless your water is very soft.
For 30ppm No3 the product delivers only 0.0875ppm Fe.
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I think I actually may <"have seen this"> without really twigging* what was happening.

Initially I got a bit of a growth spurt (below), but subsequently the new leaves paled slightly.
.........I've got tanks with a <"bit of green filamentous algae at the moment">, which is unusual for me. I'm putting it down to swapping over to <"Solufeed 2 : 1 : 4"> from <"Miracle- Gro">, partially because my Amazon Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum) (below) is <"greener than normal"> and I haven't changed anything else. .........
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green_limnobium-jpg.195799

I didn't think too much more about it , but since then I've carried on with the <"hybrid Duckweed Index"> approach (that I used when I was using the Miracle-Gro) and the Frogbit plants look back to healthy again.
* for @Hufsa

cheers Darrel
 
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I'll use nitrate (NO3-) again as my target nutrient, but I'll go for 10 ppm NO3-, rather than 10 ppm N (~44 ppm NO3-). So the only differences are tank volume and nutrient dosing level. I still assume that all the nitrogen is as NO3.
  • The tank is a nominal 180 litres and
  • I want 10 ppm NO3
  • Solufeed 2 : 1 : 4 is 15% nitrogen (N).
  • There are 1000 mg in a gram, so 1 gram of Solufeed contains 0.15g or 150 mg N, "mg / L" and "ppm" are equivalents.
  • 150 / 180 = 0.83 ppm N in 180 litres. To convert from N to NO3 we multiply by 4.43.
  • 0.83 x 4.43 = 3.69, so 1 gram of Solufeed 2 : 1 : 4 supplies 3.69 ppm NO3
  • 3.69 * 2.71 = 10 ppm
  • You need to add 2.7g of Solufeed 2 : 1 : 4 to 180 litres to give 10 ppm NO3.

Sorry for stupid question (also for my inability to establish how to select quotes correctly hence the copy/paste above) but I assume the adding of 2.7g of Solufeed 2:1:4 as outlined above is every other day (excluding the rest days etc) as per the original EI method/ schedule?

I must admit to being confused as I seem to recall reading in this thread that 1kg would last "decades"but by my reckoning using 2.7g per dose gives 370 days of use, so assuming dosing twice/3 times per weeks the 1kg will last less than 3 years. Have I missed the obvious and embarrassed myself?🙂

Phil
 
Hi all,
Phil Govier said:
I must admit to being confused as I seem to recall reading in this thread that 1kg would last "decades"but by my reckoning using 2.7g per dose gives 370 days of use, so assuming dosing twice/3 times per weeks the 1kg will last less than 3 years. Have I missed the obvious and embarrassed myself?
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No, not at all. We are just in <"apples and pears"> territory.

The <"Sodium free TEC"> is a micro-nutrients mix and the "2 : 1 : 4" a <"complete fertilisers mix">. So <"a seasonal analogy"> would be that the TEC mix is just the Brussel Sprouts, but the 2 : 1 : 4 mix is the Turkey and all the trimmings. There was nothing special about "10 ppm NO3" either, it just makes the <"calculations easier">, and the same with the Solufeed 2 : 1 : 4 formulation, it was just an easily obtainable hydroponics mix, that didn't include any ammonia (NH3/NH4+)
Phil Govier said:
but I assume the adding of 2.7g of Solufeed 2:1:4 as outlined above is every other day (excluding the rest days etc) as per the original EI method/ schedule?
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I'm not an EI user (I use the <"Duckweed Index">), but I think that would be about right.
dw1305 said:
Both <"Estimative"> and <"Duckweed"> indices, even though they are very different in concept, and were developed entirely independently, were designed to do away with the need for accurate water testing. This was just a reflection <"of the difficulties involved"> with accurate water testing.

Both Tom Barr (@plantbrain ) and myself <"worked in situations"> where we had access to analytical equipment, and could get accurate values for many water parameters, but we recognised that methods <"that didn't rely on water testing"> were more likely to <"provide successful solutions"> in the long run.

It would be fair to say that Tom myself, even though we are both loosely Plant Scientists, have <"very different approaches"> to our jobs.
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You could buy all the <"micronutrients as separate salts"> (like @Happi and @X3NiTH have done), but most people are just going to buy a mix, it is easier and less error prone
<"The scientific background to the "Leaf Colour Chart"">.

cheers Darrel
 
31.545 Gram Solufeed 2:1:4 mixed in 500 ml solution, 20 ml per 50 gallon (Micors/Fe/Macros)

N 1 (Contain Urea-N and NO3-N)
P 0.2
K 1.766
Fe 0.01166
Mn 0.004
B 0.0014
Cu 0.000666
Zn 0.005
Mg 0.1266
Mo 0.000333

5.721 gram Solufeed Sodium Free TEC Mixed in 500 ml, 20 ml per 50 gallon (Micros/Fe)

Fe 0.1
Mn 0.02418
B 0.0111
Cu 0.00278
Zn 0.014
Mo 0.001813

Above is just to give you an Idea how it would look like in ppm. you can further enhance this if you feel that the Micros/Fe is low in Solufeed 2:1:4 by combning it with Solufeed Sodium Free TEC

500 ml solution, 20 ml per 50 gallon
Add 31.545 Gram Solufeed 2:1:4
Add 5.721 gram Solufeed Sodium Free TEC

N 1 (Urea-N 0.466 ppm, NO3-N 0.54 ppm) this adds about 2.4 ppm NO3, Rest of the N is from Urea
P 0.2
K 1.766
Fe 0.11166
Mn 0.02818
Cu 0.003446
B 0.0125
Zn 0.019
Mo 0.002146
Mg 0.1266

if one were to dose this 3x a week:

N 3 (1.4 Urea-N, 1.62 NO3-N) this will add 7.18 ppm NO3, Rest of the N from Urea
P 0.6
K 5.3
Fe 0.335
Mn 0.08454
Cu 0.01
B 0.0375
Zn 0.057
Mo 0.006438
Mg 0.38
 
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Based on 1672154255269.png

Two different dosing dry salts regimes 1g/100L and 2.7/180L

1672154337843.png

If any one is after a different dry dosing regime just ask/pm - easy to modify

(N.B. @Happi has given the NPK ppms values and I have given the NO3: PO4:K ppms so the ratios look different. NPK ppms are used/popular in USA and in Europe many prefer to have the NO3: PO4:K ppms. When converted they are the same they just look different as one uses elements and the other uses elements and compounds which have different molecular weights so it can look confusing/misleading )
 
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Hi guys, So ive been using the solufeed 2:1:4 for the last couple of months as directed by @dw1305 (many thanks darrel) and I must say my plants seem to be doing well with a lot of good growth.



My tank is 700 litres and I have been dosing 6g 3 times a week and so far so good.



I've seen comments in this thread about urea, could someone please advise what this is and why it could possibly be an issue having this in a fert?
 
Mattant1984 said:
So would you say that gives me the correct amounts or would anything else need to be added?
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Well if all your plants are healthy, then yes its enough. If plants are not healthy then you need more.

Is it 'Classic Full EI dosing' ( nutrients in abundance)- No
I was just doing a 'Goal seek' for another member - if we aim for a 0.5ppm Fe or 30ppm NO3 and full EI dosing in a 60 litre tank with high light and CO2
1672169641507.png
With Solufeeds 2:1:4 alone you will not be able to get the 'Classic Full EI weekly dose' unless you aim for 0.5ppm Fe but then your NO3 PO4 and K would be in plentlyful abundance or even excessive
There has been much debate about the 'need' for Full EI dosing and the answer varies depending on who you ask. Full EI dosing is just about dosing in abundance and it is a guide and with experience many folk find other fert mixes/ppms that also work well for them. So its not black and white there are many shades of grey and every tanks needs is different.

If I was aiming at Full EI dosing I would use Solufeed Sodium Free TEC or Solufeed Sodium Free TEC-SF and add the other salts I needed and make Macro and Micro solutions. With a very big tank around 1000L or above I wold be tempted to Dry dose salts.

I think Solufeeds 2:1:4 is a great AIO salt that IMO suits low tech tanks best, being able to dose once a week easy
 
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Zeus. said:
Well if all your plants are healthy, then yes its enough. If plants are not healthy then you need more.















Is it 'Classic Full EI dosing' ( nutrients in abundance)- No







I was just doing a 'Goal seek' for another member - if we aim for a 0.5ppm Fe or 30ppm NO3 and full EI dosing in a 60 litre tank with high light and CO2















With Solufeeds 2:1:4 alone you will not be able to get the 'Classic Full EI weekly dose' unless you aim for 0.5ppm Fe but then your NO3 PO4 and K would be in plentlyful abundance or even excessive







There has been much debate about the 'need' for Full EI dosing and the answer varies depending on who you ask. Full EI dosing is just about dosing in abundance and it is a guide and with experience many folk find other fert mixes/ppms that also work well for them. So its not black and white there are many shades of grey and every tanks needs is different.















If I was aiming at Full EI dosing I would use Solufeed Sodium Free TEC or Solufeed Sodium Free TEC-SF and add the other salts I needed and make Macro and Micro solutions.















I think Solufeeds 2:1:4 is a great AIO salt that IMO suits low tech tanks best, being able to fose once a wek easy







Thanks so much for reply @Zeus your a fountain of knowledge 😀 so my tank is low tech with no C02 and basic lights. I think I will carry on with dosing what I currently am as plants are growing and seem healthy the only thing I'm getting at the moment is a bit or thread algae which I can't seem to shift??
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@dw1305 - Thanks Darrel for your reply - really appreciated
@Happi - you must be a mind reader as my next question to the forum was going to be how to calculate the mix for the 500ml bottles that I use(d) with the EI dosing. You have given me the information that I would just not have been able to work out by myself so I am extremely grateful.

I will have to try and use/understand the ferts calculator that I have seen Zeus/Happi use to assist members on numerous occasions. Chemistry never has (and never will be I guess) be my forte so Zeus /Happi are great assets to have available in times of confusion🙂

Many thanks to all other contributors as well
Thank again all for your willingness to share your knowledge
Phil
 
Hi all,
Happi said:
we still had mixed opinions about adding Nickel to the Micro Solution to improve the Urea uptake
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I'd guess that any-one <"who uses tap"> (or rain) water will not need a nickel (Ni) supplement. I also think that organisms with the <"urease enzyme"> will have pretty efficient mechanisms for sequestering any nickel ions (Ni++).

cheers Darrel
 
Hi all,
Happi said:
Edward (PPS Pro) Urea Information

discussion also took place here as well
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Thank you for those. The <"PlantedTank"> link is particularly interesting, and I wish I'd thought of this as a strap line.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert in the field, have absolutely no authoritative standing in the community and ugly tanks with dying fish and plants. Please take what is written below with a bottle of brine and learn me. I simply read, do bad math and regurgitate information in an extremely verbose manner...........SOURCES: Edward, Happi, Thomas Barr, James et al on various forums, newsletters and things like that. Other places and people that I can’t remember. Apologies to the respective parties from whom everything (and I mean every freaking thing) above was stolen. Please don’t sue.
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cheers Darrel
 
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